Saint Francis University men's basketball redshirt junior Josh Cohen (Lincroft, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) has been named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Year, announced by the league on Tuesday. 

Cohen has also been named to the All-NEC first team, while junior Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) has been selected to the All-NEC second team and freshman Landon Moore (Bloomington, Ill./Western Reserve Academy [Ohio]) has been tabbed to the NEC All-Rookie team. 

Cohen, a 6-10 forward, shares the Player of the Year honor with Merrimack's Jordan Minor. It is the first time the major award has been shared since 1983-84 when there were three players that earned the recognition.  

Cohen leads the NEC in scoring (22.0 ppg.), field goal percentage (59.1), while ranking third in minutes played (33.69 pg.), fifth in offensive rebounds (2.61 rpg.), sixth in rebounding (8.1 rpg.), sixth in defensive rebounds (5.52 rpg.) and seventh in blocked shots (0.86 bpg.). On the national stage as of games on Sunday, Cohen ranked third in made field goals (237), fifth in points (639), ninth in scoring, ninth in made free throws (157), and 28th in field goal percentage. Cohen is one of two players averaging 22.0 points per game and shooting 59.0 percent from the floor (Zach Edey, Purdue). 

The redshirt junior scored double figures in all 29 regular season games and registered 16 games with at least 20 points. He became the first player since Mike Iuzzolino to score 40 points in a game against Lehigh on November 21 and then joined the immortal Maurice Stokes as one of only two players to notch a pair of 40-point games in the same season after posting 40 points at Hawai'i on December 11. He also had an NEC career-high 31 points against FDU on February 23 and a 30-point game at No. 25 Miami on December 17. The redshirt junior also tallied five double-doubles that included a career-high 14 rebounds at Robert Morris on December 21. 

Cohen is having an historic season for the Red Flash. His 639 points on the year are the sixth most on the single-season charts in program history and has reached numbers that no player has since 1990-91. He also has posted the fourth-most made free throws (157) and fifth-most made field goals (241) in the program's single-season history. The redshirt junior became the 43rd player in program history to score 1,000 points in his career at St. Francis Brooklyn on February 16 and became the 29th player in team history to haul in 500 rebounds in a career against FDU on February 23. Cohen, who is the 20th player in program history to have 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, currently sits in 33rd place in career points (1,095) and 26th in rebounds (513).  

Cohen has racked up the awards over the last two seasons. After he was named the Most Improved Player last season, Cohen became the first NEC player to be named to the Oscar Robertson Midseason Trophy Watch List. He was also an All-NEC preseason selection and a five-time NEC Player of the Week. The five NEC Player of the Week awards are the second-most in league history and it has only been accomplished by 12 players. 

Land, a 6-5 guard, nabs his first all-conference selection with his second-team nod after being named to the NEC All-Rookie team in 2020-21. Land ranks 12th in the league scoring (12.5 ppg.), seventh in defensive rebounds (4.59 rpg.), ninth in rebounding (4.46 rpg.) and eighth in minutes played (32.39 pg.). 

Land has scored double figures 20 times this season with four 20-point performances. In addition, he has registered three double-doubles. After registering 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in the season-opener at Saint Bonaventure on November 7, Land notched a career-high 26 points against Hartford on November 12. He registered double figures in 13 of the 16 NEC games this season, including an NEC career-high 24 points against FDU on February 23 and 21-point outputs in both meetings against LIU this season. Land also had 17 games with at least five rebounds and seven games with at least eight caroms. 

For his career, Land has 834 points, 352 rebounds, 104 assists and 49 steals. He has also connected on 120 baskets from downtown and became the 26th player in team history to hit 100 3-pointers in his career against LIU at DeGol Arena on January 14. 

Moore, a 6-4 guard, appeared in the first 17 games this season and averaged 13.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while dishing out 62 assists. He became just the sixth player in NEC history and one of three players in Saint Francis history to be named the NEC Rookie of the Week seven times in the first 10 weeks of the season. The freshman registered double figures in 12 of the 17 games he played including three 20-point performances. In NEC play, Moore was averaging 18,0 points per game in the four games he played with a 20-point game against CCSU on December 29 and an NEC career-high 22 points against LIU in his final game on January 14. The freshman, who also has a career-high 25 points at nationally ranked Miami, handed out five assists or more seven times including a career-high seven helpers in the season-opener against Saint Bonaventure. 

Cohen becomes the fourth NEC Player of the Year in program history, joining Mike Iuzzolino (1990-91), Keith Braxton (2018-19) and Isaiah Blackmon (2019-20). He is also the third player to earn the highest honor under head coach Rob Krimmel. The redshirt junior also became the 14 different player to earn All-NEC first-team honors and marks the 23rd time in team history a player has garnered a first-team selection. Cohen is the first player since Blackmon and Braxton earned the recognition in 2019-20, the sixth different player and the ninth time a player earned a first-team nod under Krimmel.  

Land becomes the seventh different player and  marks the ninth time in team history a player has received a second-team selection. It is the third time under Krimmel and the first second-team selection since Braxton in 2016-17. Moore is the 16th player to be named to the NEC All-Rookie team and the first since Land in 2020-21. He is also the sixth player under Krimmel to receive the distinction. 

Cohen and Land's all-conference selection is the first all-conference nod for the Red Flash since Ramiir Dixon-Conover was named to the third team in 2020-21. The All-NEC third was added in 2012-13, while Krimmel has had an all-conference player 14 times in his 11 seasons. 

Saint Francis returns to action and will host an NEC Quarterfinal game against CCSU on Wednesday night. It will be the first postseason meeting between the two programs, while the team's split the regular season meetings with each squad winning on its home floor. Game time is 7 p.m. and will air on NEC Front Row.